Perpetrators of DR Congo crisis must be punished to find peace

DRC Prime Minister Judith Sunimwa arrives in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania ahead of EAC-SADC summit.[Sourced: Jumuiya, X] As Heads of States arrive in Dar es Salaam today for a joint Summit of the East African Community and Southern African Development Community, close to a million Congolese are on the run. While primarily a conflict between the M23 armed group and the government of Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo's vast mineral wealth has attracted several interests who threaten to escalate the war regionally. With US$ 24 trillion in copper, cobalt, tin, tantalum and lithium, the DRC is one of the world's richest economies. The Congo river's huge hydropower potential and its large rainforest is second only to Brazil. The eastern Congo has significant deposits of gold, tin, tantalum and tungsten. These minerals are in huge demand for manufacturing of wind turbines, solar panels and electric vehicle batteries. Goma sits at the nexus of these resources. Yet, DRC is among the five poorest nations in the world. One in six people living in extreme poverty in Africa are Congolese. Congolese girls are twice as likely to have children or get married than finish their secondary education. Several armed groups have caused the exodus of over 7 million internally displaced people and one in four Congolese are dependent on humanitarian assistance. Despite Goma's lucrative position within the Congo, it remains one of the most dangerous places to live. Over 100 armed groups operate in the region. Chinese, South African, American and other foreign companies are heavily invested in mining and exporting Congolese minerals. Backed by governments within the region and beyond, it is these interests that have undermined the emergence of a state capable of regulating its wealth. Following the Rwanda backed M23 military campaign to seize Goma in January 2025, the fighting between the armed group and the Congolese army has triggered serious violations of humanitarian law. Indiscriminate bombing and attacks on civilians have led to deaths, torture, rape and looting. Observers estimate between 900 and 2,000 human beings may have been killed recently and 700,000 people are on the run. Food, water and electricity is either scarce or unavailable and humanitarian agencies cannot access all those in need. Once again, both the Congolese army, its allied armed groups and the M23 and their supporters have violated obligations to protect civilians, facilitate access to humanitarian assistance and free movement. Unless interrupted, the predictable pattern of conflict - peace agreement - conflict, so familiar to most weary Congolese, seems set to repeat. While peace is paramount, lack of accountability breeds impunity and leaves the door open for future human rights abuses without consequences. Tired of the last 30 years of impunity, 76 Congolese, regional and international human rights organisations publicly wrote to the UN Human Rights Council this week. They have demanded the body establishes a mechanism to thoroughly investigate and independently report on the human rights violations. The joint statement calls for the violations to be treated as crimes against humanity under international law and perpetrators held individually accountable. The UN Human Rights Council session scheduled to take place yesterday had been requested by the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kenya is among the new members of the council. The CSO statement deserves to be read not just in Geneva but by Heads of States attending the joint EAC-SADC summit in Dar es Salaam today. Thirty years of conflict without consequences has sowed seeds of conflict once more. If there is one simple lesson the leaders sitting together today must internalise, it is this. Durable peace is not possible, if negotiators remain concerned only with peace. The current conflict is not an accident or an act of nature. It is the harvest of not holding those that wage war against civilians to account. To end war and conflict in the DRC, they must find the courage to end impunity. Unless this happens, Goma's name will remain synonymous with "Ngoma" and the drums of war will continue to beat with devastating consequences for the people of Congo. Irungu.houghton@amnesty.or.ke

Perpetrators of DR Congo crisis must be punished to find peace

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